


Good Company

by kiyala



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Developing Friendships, Gen, University
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-29
Updated: 2017-03-29
Packaged: 2018-10-12 03:04:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10480704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiyala/pseuds/kiyala
Summary: Fukunaga begins university and makes unlikely friends.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sencha](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sencha/gifts).



Fukunaga is the sort of person who knows what his priorities are and then sticks to them. As soon as he's settled in at university, he sets about doing the next most important thing; finding the best all-you-can-eat buffet within walking distance from the campus. He does his research, reading reviews for each place he finds until he narrows his result to one. It's a fifteen minute walk from campus and Fukunaga has an early finish on Fridays, after his morning tutorials. He waits until then, eager for good, satisfying food.

He knows he's made the right decision the moment he walks in. If the mouth-watering smell of cooking meat isn't enough, Fukunaga glimpses a head of distinctly styled white, grey, and black, hair. Bokuto is piling meat high on his plate, his eyes sparkling with the same level of excitement that he typically has when facing challenging teams on the volleyball court. If Bokuto thinks that this place is worth eating at, that's a better guarantee of quality than any review Fukunaga can find.

For a moment, he considers going over to say hello to Bokuto. He probably knows what tastes the best, but Fukunaga has been looking forward to trying this place out; a part of that is actually figuring out what he likes best from the menu by trying it for himself. Following Bokuto around, as fun as it would probably be, would also spoil some of that fun, so Fukunaga decides to keep to himself this time.

Bokuto probably hasn't even noticed him anyway because he's so distracted by the meat. Not that Fukunaga can blame him for that at all, considering the fact that his stomach is already grumbling with how eager he is to start eating. By the time Fukunaga is sitting down at a table, he's lost sight of Bokuto. He shrugs it off and focuses on the menu opened up in front of him; that's why he's here, after all. 

He orders a few different things at once, going for whatever jumps out at him from the menu first, and he's pleased by just how quick the service is. He starts with the sashimi, taking his time to just appreciate the flavour at first before he starts enjoying it too much to pace himself. He eats faster, until he has to stop for water. He sees Bokuto again then, sitting at a table with someone else that Fukunaga doesn't immediately recognise; someone lanky who sits hunched over the table, dark and messy hair sticking out in every direction, shoulders shaking as they laugh at something Bokuto has said.

Fukunaga doesn't mean to watch them, but just as he's about to turn his attention back to his own food, Bokuto's friend shifts and suddenly looks familiar.

He's a volleyball player, Fukunaga realises. Or at the very least, he was in high school. Fukunaga can't remember which team he came from, though. There were a lot of teams in Tokyo that Nekoma played against, both in official matches as well as practice matches. There's something about the way this guy holds himself, though, that tells Fukunaga that he's not from Tokyo.

The thought makes Fukunaga blink with surprise. He'd never really considered it before, but he can tell the difference between those who have grown up in Tokyo and those who have moved here later. It's not always the same thing that makes people stand out, so it's not even something Fukunaga can explain beyond instinct. All he knows is that drawing on his memory of the other Tokyo teams he's played against isn't going to help him here. He still can't shake the feeling that whichever team it was, they were significant in some way, but that's not very helpful either, considering that there are several reasons a team could be significant or interesting—especially with captains like Kuroo and Kenma, who didn't only care about the teams that they would be playing against, but also the teams that they _could_ play; the ones who would be interesting to face, to see their techniques from up close.

It occurs to Fukunaga almost immediately. Of all the teams he knew of but never had a chance to play, Aoba Jousai stands out the most. A missed opportunity. _A shame_ —Fukunaga can almost hear the words in Kuroo's voice, expressing disappointment with the click of his tongue.

Whoever is sitting with Bokuto, Fukunaga can tell that it's not the captain or the ace. They both have distinct looks to them, and personalities to match. Still, if he looks familiar to Fukunaga despite never facing him on court, Bokuto's friend must have been important to the team.

 _The thing about Seijou_ , he remembers Kuroo saying to Kenma before graduating, _is that the core of their team is made up of their third years. Iwaizumi's Oikawa's right hand, but Hanamaki is his left and Matsukawa's like a second pair of eyes. A second brain, for when Oikawa's too busy with the rest. Sucks that we've never had a chance to play them. We'll see how they go next year._

Fukurodani also lost the majority of their starting members when Bokuto and his classmates graduated, Fukunaga remembers, but they still had Akaashi. That was enough for them. Even in Fukunaga's third year, they were a challenging team. Aoba Jousai, on the other hand, didn't make it to Nationals once again. 

Matsukawa, Fukunaga finally matches the face to the name. Perhaps he and Matsukawa understand each other on a level that most others don't, as players who left their teams significantly weaker upon graduation. Fukunaga wonders if there's any guilt attached to that sort of experience, or pride at knowing that the team is entirely different without them on it.

From what Fukunaga can tell from his table, their friendship doesn't seem to be based on volleyball now. Bokuto is talking between bites of food and Fukunaga might be able to hear his voice through the general chatter surrounding them, but he can't make out anything he's actually saying. Whatever it is, he keeps sending Matsukawa into fits of laughter, then pausing to look pleased about it, puffing his chest up a little.

He really does look like an owl, Fukunaga thinks to himself with a small huff of amusement. Apparently his school pride extends long past graduation, but Fukunaga can't really talk when he has a manekineko sitting on his study desk in his room. He wonders if the same applies to Matsukawa, but perhaps the _matsu_ in his name does the job for him anyway. 

Fukunaga snickers to himself, turning his attention back to his food. University friendships are interesting and completely different to the kinds of friendships formed in high school, he muses. He's eager to find out what kinds of friendships he's going to make.

He's also looking forward to coming back here; he asn't even finished his first plate of food and he's already trying to work out when he'll next be free to come here for lunch again. 

As far as Fukunaga is concerned, this is a good way to end his first week of university. He's looking forward to seeing what's yet to come. 

 

 

* * *

 

 

The next time Fukunaga goes back to the buffet, he's stopped by a hand on his shoulder just as he's about to step through the door.

It's Bokuto, standing behind him and leaning in to take a closer look. "Hey. Aren't you one of Kuroo's middle blockers?"

Fukunaga blinks, not entirely sure how to he's meant to respond to that, but then Bokuto's expression brightens.

"Yeah, you _are_! Fukunaga. I know you."

Fukunaga smiles, more pleased at being recognised than he thought he would be. 

"I thought I saw you here last week," Bokuto says, placing his hand on Fukunaga's back and guiding him through the door. "I wasn't sure, but I figured that I'd probably see you again at some point. I don't think this is the sort of place you can only visit once, you know? It's too good not to come back."

Fukunaga nods in emphatic agreement. He doesn't know how people wouldn't be able to resist the urge to return when everything tastes so good and the menu is so big. He's already determined to keep coming back until he's eaten his way through the entire menu at least once. He wouldn't be surprised if Bokuto has already done so, several times. 

"Where do you wanna sit?" Bokuto asks, looking around. Fukunaga lets him pick; he's taller anyway and is more familiar with the restaurant's layout. "Oh! Let's go sit over there."

Honestly, Fukunaga isn't really fussed about where they're sitting anyway, but when Bokuto sits down at the table he's picked out, Fukunaga has to stop and appreciate just how well-positioned it is. It's easy enough to get to, without having to wind through other tables along the way. There are waiters within clear sight, in case they need any help, and it's away from the busiest part of the restaurant so there isn't as much noise. Bokuto has clearly put a lot of thought into this and it's one of the things that has always intrigued Fukunaga about him; for all that he comes across as an entirely uncomplicated person, there's much more thought to his actions than most people would guess upon first glance. 

He remembers Kenma commenting on it, back when they were still in second year. Kenma is always full of observations, capable of changing Fukunaga's entire perspective of something with one carefully worded sentence. Sitting across from Bokuto now, Fukunaga tries to remember every little observation that Kenma has shared about him. 

The first thing that comes to mind is the most obvious; Bokuto takes great pleasure in making people laugh. Fukunaga remembers it from every conversation he's witnessed Bokuto having with Kuroo in high school, the way he interacted with his team and now he's seeing it for himself as Bokuto tells him all about the best dishes here, doing his best to make puns on their names. Bokuto is good at it; Fukunaga laughs along quietly, wondering if Bokuto has put serious thought into these and tried them out before. He thinks of Matsukawa laughing while eating last week. It's not an entirely unreasonable assumption to make.

He figures that laughing along to Bokuto's jokes is the easiest way to get along with him, but he's surprised by just how easy it is. Spending so long making people laugh has clearly made Bokuto very good at it; he spends some time trying out different jokes, clearly trying to get a feel for Fukunaga's sense of humour, and his expression lights up as he figures it out.

"You," Bokuto declares, "are just like me. You find everything funny, don't you? I can tell that you like laughing at things."

Fukunaga doesn't reply, curious to know what Bokuto will say next. Bokuto hums in thought, tapping his fingers on the edge of the table.

"I can really tell that you've spent a lot of time with Kuroo and with Kenma too. You kind of remind me of both of them."

That catches Fukunaga by surprise, leaving him blinking as he processes it. The association with Kuroo makes sense when he and Bokuto are clearly close friends and every member of the Nekoma boys' volleyball club must remind Bokuto of his friend on at least some level. Kenma, he supposes also makes sense because they were in the same grade.

Except then, Bokuto surprises him even further when he says, "You're easy-going and you like having fun, just like Kuroo, but you're always watching everyone and everything that happens around you. That part reminds me of Kenma. I don't know if it's on purpose, or if it's just something you sort of picked up just by hanging out with him a lot. That sort of thing happens when you spend time with friends, right? You pick up some of their habits. That's one of the things I like best about getting to hang out with people regularly. They kinda leave a mark on your life, don't they?"

Knowing that Bokuto is more insightful than he lets on is one thing, but actually experiencing it firsthand is something else entirely. Fukunaga is impressed, and he can see why Kuroo is such good friends with Bokuto, why Kenma has so much respect for him despite not liking how loud he tends to be.

Fukunaga can feel his respect for Bokuto growing with every minute they spend together, from his sense of humour to the cleverness that hides just under the surface. Perhaps Bokuto is right and they are similar, even if Fukunaga is much quieter. It would definitely explain why it's so easy for them to get along. 

Before Fukunaga can make any sort of comment on it, however, his stomach grumbles loudly enough that it surprises both of them. 

Bokuto laughs, picking up his menu. "Right, we're not really here to sit down and talk, are we? If you're hungry, then you should say something!"

Fukunaga nods along because it's easier than explaining that he didn't even realise how hungry he was before. He picks his menu up as well, going through the pages and already mentally planning out what food he's going to try this time. He lets Bokuto order his own food first, then orders his own. The service is just as quick this time too and they sit there, giving each other's plates appraising looks.

"You've got a pretty big appetite, hey?" Bokuto asks, his tone full of approval that makes Fukunaga feel ridiculously pleased. "Nice. You've picked out some pretty good stuff."

They don't talk for a while after that, both of them focusing on eating their food. Fukunaga thinks that he can hear Bokuto's stomach grumbling as well and he isn't even surprised; it's difficult to resist the delicious smell of the food, especially when it's sitting right in front of them. 

"You eat like it's a competition or something," Bokuto comments, pausing between bites to watch as Fukunaga keeps eating. "You must be really hungry, huh?" 

Fukunaga always eats like this. It's a learned habit of his, especially from all the training camps that he's been to with the rest of the Nekoma team. The faster he eats, the less likely it is that someone else will steal his food from his plate. It was even worse when there are other teams with other players to compete over food with and perhaps part of this is reflexive because Fukunaga _remembers_ what it was like to try to get enough food every time their team had a barbecue with Fukurodani. He knows that it wouldn't just be Bokuto taking the food, but Fukunaga figures that he can't be blamed for being wary all the same. 

After ordering even more food, both Fukunaga and Bokuto are finally satisfying, content to sit there for a while to digest. 

"So anyway, you're fun to eat with," Bokuto declares, taking his phone out. "We should get lunch together more often. I've got a friend who comes here with me sometimes. I bet he'd like you too." 

_Matsukawa_ , Fukunaga thinks to himself, but he doesn't say it. He exchanges details with Bokuto, satisfied that he'll have good company for when he wants to eat here again. His university experience—at least outside of classes—just keeps getting better. 

 

 

* * *

 

 

A few days later, Fukunaga gets a message from Bokuto inviting him to go to the buffet again. 

He's been resisting the urge to go back since last time because he's wary of letting it become a regular habit, but he doesn't even hesitate to reply to Bokuto immediately to confirm that he's free.

Which is how he ends up standing in front of the restaurant a few hours later, waiting for Bokuto. He looks up from his phone, freezing up when he realises that Matsukawa is walking towards the restaurant too. Bokuto didn't mention that he'd be inviting anyone else, but Fukunaga wouldn't be surprised if he did anyway. That's just the sort of person Bokuto is, incredibly friendly and willing to share his time with as many of his friends as possible. Fukunaga isn't entirely sure what to do, but then Matsukawa comes to a stop in front of him. 

There's an assessing look in Matsukawa's eyes, before he folds his arms across his chest and nods to himself, like he's decided something. "Yeah. You definitely look like you were on Nekoma at some point. We never got to play each other, but there's something about you that just says… cat." 

Not quite knowing what to say to that, Fukunaga just stares at Matsukawa for a moment. 

"Sorry, that was a weird way to introduce myself, wasn't it?" Matsukawa gives him an easy grin. "I'm Bokuto's friend. He told me that he thought he knew you when he spotted you last time we were here together. He must have been right, huh? I guess you're waiting for him too." 

"Matsukawa," Fukunaga says, bowing his head just a little in greeting. "From Aoba Jousai."

"Oh, so you _do_ know me." Matsukawa grins even wider. "That's always good. Didn't know if I'd freak you out if I just went in and started calling you by your name if you had no idea who I was. Nice to meet you properly, Fukunaga. Bokuto told me a bit about you after he saw you a few days ago. Says you're a pretty good guy, but it's hard to find someone that Bokuto _can't_ find something nice to say about them, to be honest. He's probably running late. He does that a lot." 

That doesn't surprise Fukunaga at all. He glances down the street, and then at his watch. Bokuto's currently five minutes late and hasn't sent any messages. Matsukawa notices Fukunaga checking, and snorts quietly. 

"He just gets distracted easily. I don't need to explain to you anyway when you probably know exactly what he's like. You must have met him a few times during high school, huh? I remember your teams would always play practice matches or go to training camps together." 

It's true, but Fukunaga is quickly learning that vaguely knowing of someone through high school volleyball teams and actually getting to know them as a person are two very different things. 

"Anyway, you can relax," Matsukawa tells him. "He's usually late, but he never keeps you waiting for very long. Besides, it kind of builds the anticipation, doesn't it? I already can't wait to go in and get my hands on some really nice steak." 

" _Suteki_ ," Fukunaga mutters, and it makes Matsukawa laugh loudly enough to startle him. 

"Shit, I'm sorry," Matsukawa chuckles, patting Fukunaga on the shoulder. "Didn't mean to scare you like that. Good joke, though."

Fukunaga feels the smile on his face grow wider, to the point that it's making his cheeks hurt a little. He nods at Matsukawa in thanks, but before he can say anything, he hears Bokuto yelling in their direction.

"Heeeey! I'm sorry I'm late! I was just on the phone with Akaashi and—" 

"Excuses, excuses." Matsukawa laughs, patting Bokuto on the back when he finally runs over to them. He winks at Fukunaga. "Here's a handy rule when it comes to dealing with Bokuto. If you get him started about his friends from Fukurodani, he's never going to _stop_."

"They were a good team," Bokuto protests, whacking Matsukawa lightly on the shoulder with the back of his hand. "Besides, Akaashi is the best. Do you know that he's studying—"

"Like I said," Matsukawa says loudly, using the hand that he has on Bokuto's back to steer him towards the door of the restaurant. "Shall we go inside and eat? I was starving even before you made us wait." 

Fukunaga finds that eating with both Bokuto and Matsukawa together is an entirely different experience to just sitting there with Bokuto. For one, he doesn't have as much time to just pause and think about either of them once they decide on a table and then order their first round of food. Bokuto is talkative and full of energy, but when put together with Matsukawa, the two of them trade so many quips at such speed that Fukunaga's attention is mostly taken up just following what's happening. 

He likes it, though. It might take him a while to get used to it but once he does, he sits there and enjoys the way Bokuto and Matsukawa trade jabs the way they trade meat from their plates when they see something they're particularly curious to try. It's an easy friendship, and Fukunaga thinks that even with the fact that they both seem to be incredibly friendly people, they must have been spending time with each other for the better part of the previous year for them to get this comfortable with each other. 

"Anyway, I haven't really heard you say a single thing since we came in here," Matsukawa says, looking up from his plate once he's traded a piece of his steak for some karaage. "What's up? Cat got your tongue?"

Bokuto snorts quietly, whacking Matsukawa in the arm. "Don't. You'll embarrass him with your bad humour."

Fukunaga is already laughing though, covering his mouth with his hand and snickering into it. Matsukawa's grin grows wider, turning lopsided, and he raises his eyebrows at Bokuto.

"What were you saying about bad humour, huh?" 

This is fun, Fukunaga realises. He trades some of his beef for the pork that Matsukawa got and smiles at him. "Thank you." 

"You're talking just to spite me now, aren't you?" Matsukawa laughs. "I can respect that." 

"I _told_ you Fukunaga was a good guy," Bokuto says proudly, grinning across the table. "He's fun to hang out with!"

"You're right," Matsukawa agrees. He smiles at Fukunaga too. "Don't know if you're planning on joining the volleyball team here or not, but even if you don't, at least we've got another buddy to eat here with. The more the merrier, right?"

"The more people there are, the more dishes we have to share," Bokuto says, nodding wisely. "I think three is a pretty good number, don't you?"

Fukunaga nods in agreement, helping himself to more pork and pushing his plate of beef across the table. "I think so." 

The rest of the meal passes with easy conversation flowing between Bokuto and Matsukawa. Fukunaga prefers to listen along, laughing to their jokes, or laughing internally as he thinks of additions that he doesn't say out loud, and Bokuto and Matsukawa must figure out that it's what he's more comfortable with because they don't try to coax him to talk any more than he wants to, happy enough with his company and his laughter. 

By the time they're finished eating, Fukunaga is full and happy—more than he can remember being for a while. The three of them sit there, letting their food digest, and Fukunaga is having too much fun to actually want to leave any time soon. He doesn't really know what kind of person he was expecting Matsukawa to be, but from all the things he's heard about Aoba Jousai, he's always thought of them as an incredibly intimidating team, held back from Nationals only because of even stronger teams like Shiratorizawa and Karasuno. He's heard stories about Oikawa switching between frightful intensity to being incredibly carefree, but he always thought that if Oikawa ever lacked in intimidation, the rest of his team would be able to make up for it.

Matsukawa, Fukunaga thinks to himself, isn't intimidating at all. It makes him a little curious to see what kind of person Matsukawa is on the court, though, and whether it changes there. Perhaps he saves it all for the games that he's playing, and that thought alone is enough to have him curious enough to consider attending one of the university volleyball club's practice sessions, just so he can see for himself. 

When they finally get up to leave, it turns out that Matsukawa and Fukunaga live in the same direction. They wave goodbye to Bokuto, before Matsukawa leads the way through the streets that have quickly become familiar to Fukunaga over the last two weeks. 

"Hey, I meant what I said earlier," Matsukawa tells him, not looking directly at Fukunaga but tilting his head upwards, towards the trees as they walk under them. "You're pretty fun. You're welcome to hang out with us whenever you want, but it's up to you, yeah? I know Bokuto can come on pretty strong and it's hard to say no to him, but…"

"I don't mind," Fukunaga tells him, and means it. "You're both fun."

Matsukawa glances at him then, the corners of his mouth curling up into a smile that looks a little relieved.

"Thank you, though," Fukunaga says, and he means it. 

Most of the time, the fact that he doesn't speak up very much means that the people he's with forget to give him the chance to if he ever wants it. Matsukawa seems to be much more perceptive towards that sort of thing, though, and Fukunaga remembers what Kuroo once said, about him serving as Oikawa's second pair of eyes on the Aoba Jousai team. He's clearly not one to be underestimated, even if everything about his body language and his friendly nature seems to invite it. 

Suddenly, Fukunaga is even more interested in seeing how Matsukawa plays on the volleyball court. He considers asking when the next practice is, but he'd rather not be quite so obvious about it. He can wait. He'll look it up once he's back in his room. 

Matsukawa pats him on the back as they part ways, offering him another smile. "I'll see you around, I bet." 

Fukunaga nods, waving in reply before he turns to leave. 

 

 

* * *

 

 

The next time Fukunaga spends time with Bokuto and Matsukawa, it's after a morning practice. He's still in quiet awe, having gone to watch from the stands in the gymnasium. The level of university volleyball is an entirely different level to what he experienced in high school but the most impressive thing is that Bokuto and Matsukawa are able to keep up with it like it's nothing. 

He's sure that he left before either Bokuto or Matsukawa could notice him, but he's standing in the line at the local café an hour later when he's startled by an arm slung around his shoulders. 

"Hey! I thought I saw you this morning," Bokuto tells him, grinning. "You need to stop doing that to me, or else I'm just gonna start assuming I'll see you everywhere I go."

"Or, feel free to keep doing it," Matsukawa adds, slinging his arm around Fukunaga's shoulder from the other side. "I scored a spike off this guy because he thought he was seeing things."

They're both heavy as they lean against him and Fukunaga shrugs them off as politely as he can, pleased as they get into line with him. He hasn't spent any time with them outside of the buffet and as much as they've all decided that it's fun to spend time with each other, Fukunaga has still been wondering if their friendship would be confined to the one context. He's surprised to find just how glad that he is for the fact that it's not. 

"I have class in an hour," Matsukawa sighs, checking the time as they claim a table near the window. "Whatever, that's enough time for this coffee to kick in. But Fukunaga, if you were going to wake up that early just to come watch us at practice, you should have joined in too. That would've been fun."

Fukunaga hums in thought. He's never really considered taking volleyball seriously past high school, but he can tell that even though the level is much higher at university, the team still has plenty of fun. He's spent the last three years being a starting member on a team; he doesn't have to go in with the intention of being good enough to be on the first string here too, he could just go and enjoy himself on the court, perhaps play a few practice matches, and that would be enough for him.

"He's thinking about it!" Bokuto realises, whacking Matsukawa's shoulder excitedly. "I thought it would take way more convincing than that, damn Matsukawa, you're good." 

"Of course I am," Matsukawa shrugs, smirking, but then his smile turns more genuine as he turns to Fukunaga again. "Anyway, the important thing is that you do whatever you want to do. I'm sure it would be great to play with you but we're not going to force you to join the team if you don't want to."

Fukunaga nods, incredibly pleased that Bokuto and Matsukawa want to play volleyball with him at all. It's the easiest way for them to connect, he supposes, outside of their common love for good food and bad jokes. Almost like a different form of communication in itself, Fukunaga thinks to himself. 

"You don't have to decide right away, either!" Bokuto assures him, nearly knocking his coffee cup over as he waves his hand around. "I mean, hey, even if you just want to toss the ball around with us instead of joining the whole team, we could do that too! And if you don't, we can always hang out somewhere else. It doesn't have to be all volleyball all the time." 

The words don't sound entirely right to Fukunaga when they're coming from Bokuto's mouth, because he _is_ the kind of person who cares a lot for the game, who is likely to keep taking it seriously for as long as he possibly can. It makes Fukunaga wonder what the setter on the university team is like, and he wishes he'd paid more attention to them earlier than morning when he was watching practice. 

"Anyway, we're trying to make a point here," Matsukawa speaks up, taking a long sip of his coffee before he continues. "It doesn't really matter _where_ , but we're definitely going to hang out more in the future, okay? It's too late to run now, you've got two huge second year volleyball nerds for friends." 

"Friends," Fukunaga repeats, unable to keep himself from smiling. "…I'm glad."


End file.
